Instagram this: Facebook releases standalone camera app for iOS

In case you were looking for more evidence that Facebook is serious about capturing the attention of its 500 million mobile users, here you go.

Earlier today, the company announced Facebook Camera, a standalone camera app that puts photos center stage.

Via the app, Facebook users can more easily take, batch upload, tag, view, and comment on photos. Taking a cue from Instragram, the app also features its own set of fourteen photo filters, though they don't appear to be quite as nice as Instagram's own.

In true Instagram form, the app is only available for iOS at the moment, though Android and Windows Phone versions are sure to materialize eventually.

For Facebook, releasing a standalone camera app merely a month after acquiring Instagram might seem a bit odd, but it's clear that the app was in development long before the Instagram acquisition was even in consideration.